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Energy Tomorrow is brought to you by the American Petroleum Institute (API), which is the only national trade association that represents all aspects of America's oil and natural gas industry. Our more than 500 corporate members, from the largest major oil company to the smallest of independents, come from all segments of the industry. They are producers, refiners, suppliers, pipeline operators and marine transporters, as well as service and supply companies that support all segments of the industry.

Protecting the environment and the communities where we operate is a core industry value. We talk about the commitment and we demonstrate it – in technologies that enhance environmental performance, in tangible results such as reduced carbon emissions and in the efforts of trained professionals like Lola Owolabi, an environmental engineer with Phillips 66’s Los Angeles Refinery.

The air you breathe is the cleanest of the modern era and continues to improve. The EPA reports that total emissions of the six criteria air pollutants in the United States have declined 73% since 1970 and air quality has improved across the nation.

The current state of ozone regulation is a mess – and Washington needs to do something about it.

Late in 2015, EPA imposed new standards for ozone air quality, which posed an immediate problem out in the rest of the country because existing, 2008 standards weren’t yet fully implemented. Basically, the states were faced with having to deal with two competing sets of ozone regulations. As we wrote at the time, the 2015 standards weren’t necessary because the 2008 regime already was working and would continue to work toward better air quality.

Putting together three big takeaways from EIA's report, the ongoing U.S. renaissance in natural gas and oil production puts America in a strong position for the future, especially in the context of rising world energy demand. Continued growth in domestic natural gas and oil production offers the U.S. a chance to grow in its energy self-sufficiency.

America’s air is getting cleaner and cleaner, even as the economy continues growing. So says EPA’s latest annual report on air quality, which tracks improvements since 1970. Cleaner air during economic growth, including the ongoing U.S. energy renaissance. That’s news we never get tired of hearing.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) released a new paper discussing the role of natural gas in public health throughout Turkey. The study focused on the relationship between the adoption of natural gas services and the mortality rates of adults and the elderly. Furthermore, the NBER released a study in February that focused on the relationship between the use of natural gas and infant mortality rates in Turkey.

Reducing government regulation found its way into a number of the speeches at the Republican Convention in Cleveland, and this is especially important to the future of America’s energy renaissance.

Along with cutting government red tape in leasing and permitting of energy projects, establishing a common-sense approach to energy regulation will help encourage the private investment and innovation that are driving the surge in domestic oil and natural gas production.

To comply with standards approaching or below naturally occurring levels of ozone, states could be required to restrict everything from manufacturing and energy development to infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. Even if job growth were strong, saddling states with unachievable requirements would be questionable policy at best. In an economy still struggling to add jobs, new ozone regulations that impact such a wide range of job creators – and promise little to no public health benefit – make no sense.

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Energy Tomorrow is a project of the American Petroleum Institute – the only national trade association that represents all aspects of America’s oil and natural gas industry – speaking for the industry to the public, Congress and the Executive Branch, state governments and the media.